Alternative ending to the season 3 finale
by Thebigfatflyingbeastinthetree
Summary: This is an alternative ending to the season 3 finale concerning Andrea's and Milton's fate.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own The Walking Dead and I don't own its characters. As a matter of fact… I don't own anything, except this little fantasy. Truth is, I've been wanting to write a different ending to the season 3 finale concerning Milton and Andrea for a very long time. So here it is! Or at least a part of it for the time being.

At first I meant for this story to be only one chapter, but while writing it I got the feeling that it would be too long, so I'm going to cut it up a bit. No idea how many chapters I'll eventually write.

Please note that English isn't my mother tongue and that I make mistakes. Hopefully it won't take away from the overall experience, but I'm always open to constructive criticism.

Enjoy!

 **Chapter 1**

She had been slipping in and out of consciousness, though for how long already, she didn't know. He had been particularly brutal with her, knocking her out first so he could tie her up and put her in the back of his truck without too much trouble. Her body was aching from how she had been forced to stay still with no room to stretch her limbs. It was downright frustrating how he had managed to get her back into Woodbury without anyone noticing or even being suspicious. He had looked horrible, she knew that much, and still nobody was asking any questions on what he might have been doing outside? Or were they all just too scared to question him? Scared that he might doubt their loyalty to him and make them pay for it…

Right now she couldn't believe how she had ever fallen for a man like Philip. She should have realized what he was way earlier, Michonne had seen it, so why hadn't she? Looking back at it now, the signs had been there from the start. But he was charming, smart, strong and had managed to build what seemed like the only safe place on earth. He had seemed like such a capable leader and in a way, he was, but life had taken its toll on him. The (second) death of his daughter had been the last straw and seeing him in so much pain, being unable to help, was what had made her forgive his more than questionable decisions and deeds. She had been through it herself and she knew what it could do to a person. Losing the people you love can destroy you from the inside out and everyone deals with it in different ways. Her way had been to want to end her own life, Philip's was to end other lifes.

But she had healed from that, or at least partially and deep down she had hoped that she could be the person to help Philip heal. So that he could be the warm, caring man again he once had been. Such a naïve thought, looking back at it now. She was so angry at herself right now for letting everything slip out of control, refusing to admit that Philip wasn't to be saved anymore. Yet, on the other side, she knew she couldn't blame herself for wanting to help a man who wasn't inherently bad. He hadn't been like this before the apocalypse… All she had ever wanted was to save everyone, including Philip, but she was too late to realize that Philip was long dead. He died along with his daughter and what remained of him was a corpse, not looking to eat, but to kill, destroy and inflict pain on others. That was the Governor. Not Philip.

It was the sound of footsteps coming closer to the room where she was being held captive that made her snap out of her musings. Heart beating faster and breathing accelerating just from the mere thought it was the Governor having come back to do whatever he pleased to her. Was he going to kill her? Hurt her first and then kill her? Or was there a spark of Philip left inside the corpse and would he decide to let her live? Keys making contact with the door made her sit perfectly upright in the dentist chair as if she would be able to jump out of it if needed, which unfortunately was impossible. She had tried to free herself on a constant basis, but all she had managed to do was make her wrists bleed from the hand cuffs.

When the door opened and she saw the man stepping inside, her heart skipped a beat, for it wasn't the Governor but Milton. And for a brief moment in which they watched each other, she didn't know whether to be relieved or not. Had he come to release her, or had he been on the Governor's side all along? She didn't make a noise and waited while he took a step back to check if no one had followed him. He then rushed inside the room, muttering something that sounded like "shit" and knelt down in front of her. Noticing the tape covering her mouth, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to just get it over with and removed it from her mouth with one swift pull. Immediately, Andrea started coughing from the sudden pain and the need for air that she had lacked for quite a few hours now.

"Shh…!", Milton urged her to try and keep it quiet, while she gasped for air and allowed herself to believe that Milton had indeed come to release her.

"Milton… how did you…? How did you…?", Andrea questioned while Milton revealed a pair of pliers and set work on trying to free her.

"I suspected that the Governor had either killed you or taken you back here when I saw his appearance. He's always thought I was incapable of detecting lies just because I can't lie myself.", Milton explained, keeping his voice low. Andrea watched him attentively while he worked on freeing her and fortunately, it didn't take him too long to do so. Right when she saw the second chain succumbing to the pressure of the pliers she stood up from the chair and wrapped her arms around Milton's waist in an intense hug. "Thank you, thank you…" She knew what he was risking for her.

Milton, unsure of what was happening to him and how he should respond to this act of gratefulness, didn't dare to return the hug and just stood there with his own arms slightly raised. "We… we need to get you out of here.", he spoke up after a few seconds and Andrea let go of him, looking ready for action.

"Alright, you have a plan?", she asked, sounding as if she could take on anything. What needed to be done, needed to be done. There was no time for hesitating about anything now.

"We sneak into my apartment and from there, we can easily make a bridge between one of the windows and the town's wall. I hid a car in the woods that I'll explain how to find later and from there you can escape quickly to the prison and warn your friends.", Milton explained while the two of them made their way out of the torture chamber, through a few corridors and finally into Milton's now familiar lab.

It was then that it hit Andrea. "What do you mean 'you can escape quickly'? You're coming with me Milton Mamet, I'm not taking a 'no' as an answer this time."

"I can't leave…", Milton responded sounding troubled, but he hadn't changed his mind since their last conversation. He simply couldn't leave Woodbury, he couldn't… Andrea couldn't understand how difficult it was for him to leave a place that he knew behind for an uncertain future. No one understood, but this was the way he was. She would have to accept it.

"Of course you can leave!", Andrea responded, getting impatient now. Why couldn't Milton see that there was no future in Woodbury, not for him, not for anyone? "Don't you realize what he might do to you if he finds out that you helped me escape? And I won't live with the guilt if you-"

At that moment, they heard the Governor's voice outside the lab talking to one of the soldiers and giving orders concerning the town's safety for the night and the preparations for the war the next day. They heard his hand starting to turn the door knot.

"Quick, hide!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Before she knew it, Milton had pushed her into some kind of wardrobe that he used for his laboratory coat and other scientific gear. He then rushed to his desk and sat down in the chair, looking down at some random papers to appear busy. She could see him through a split in the door and feared the Governor would see right through him as he was overacting his interest in whatever he was supposed to be absorbed in. Silently praying that Philip wouldn't notice Milton's nervousness, she heard the man entering the lab, though couldn't see him yet.

Milton looked up as Philip came in without saying anything, not knowing if he should take it as a good or a bad sign. He knew that punishment awaited him, not for having freed Andrea since the Governor didn't know that yet, but for having burned the biters. He had been ready for it too, after all, he had practically confessed it himself. It hadn't been his intention initially, but the way the Governor had been treating him and everyone else lately, had made something snap inside of Milton. He couldn't follow Andrea to the prison, but he also couldn't be a loyal follower to a murderous dictator anymore. There was no life for him outside Woodbury's walls, he knew that. Andrea thought there was, but it wasn't true. Not for him. He had only survived for so long because the Governor had given him his protection and in return, Milton had looked the other way, quietly performing experiments on biters that had never really let to anything but disappointment. Now things had escalated to the point that looking the other way wasn't an option anymore. It just wasn't. And if he couldn't do that anymore, then all Milton could do was rebel against the Governor until it would mean his end.

Yes, he had been ready for it. Death. Had accepted he had no place in this world, but Andrea being captured and therefore being in serious danger had made him care again and now he had a hard time containing himself while he knew Andrea's life was on the line as well. He watched as the Governor put his hands on his hips and looked down at the ground, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Philip…"

"We need to talk.", the Governor stated calmly and looked up at Milton before coming closer to him. Milton stood up from his chair as he normally did when the other man wanted to talk and nodded. "Okay."

When he was right in front of Milton, Philip stood still and sighed, seemingly looking for the right words to say. They stayed like that for a few seconds and Milton began to think that maybe his traitorous act had gotten Philip to come to his senses, until out of nowhere the one-eyed man punched him in the face hard, sending his glasses flying from the first hit. Unprepared for such violence, Milton had no way of defending himself as the Governor delivered a few more punches until Milton sank on the ground against the wall, nose bleeding. Praying that Andrea wouldn't interfere and get herself killed for nothing, Milton rose his hand for a second towards the wardrobe to tell her to stay put, even if he had no idea if she could see them or not.

"I have to say I was impressed huh. You had taken a risk, getting your hands dirty. You know… we were going to have those biters for our little Michonne man-hunt."

"You were going to use them on whoever showed up."

"That's right. Hey… Because we didn't have them… because you burned them up… eight of my man died."

An additional punch to the face had Milton hang his head, unable to lift it again himself, but the Governor brutally took hold of his face and made him look in the eye.

"And you knew them huh? They kept you safe, kept you fed."

"As long as I looked the other way."

"Yeah… well it can't be like that anymore. Time for you to graduate… Hey, I'm gonna tell you a secret. There's a threat, you end it and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it. You smell the gunpowder and you see the blood, you know what that means? It means you're alive. You won. You take the heads so that you don't ever forget. You kill or you die."

"What would your daughter think… about what you are?"

"She would be afraid of me. But if I had been like this from the start, she would be alive today."

Milton gave up talking back then and hung his head again. He really believed it. Philip really believed the words himself. There was no turning back from that anymore, no hope of the man having a change of heart. No hope of…

"I believe there's someone who would like to say hi to an old friend, she must be getting lonely by now.", the Governor spoke up again in his torturous calm voice and took Milton by the collar, dragging his abused right-hand man with him. They went back through the cold metallic corridors of the building until they reached the torture room. The Governor's smug smile seemed to take ages to disappear from his face as he took in the empty dentist chair and seemed to refuse to believe what his eye was seeing.

"Where is she…?", he asked silently first, before repeating his question louder and then even louder a third time. "Where…"

It was at that moment that his eye fell on Milton and it seemed to click in the taller man's head. "You…", he growled threating. "You helped her escape."

Milton looked up at the Governor and looked him in the eye with a confidence that was almost unnatural for him, not like his shy self. "I did.", he replied and Milton hoped it would make Philip feel betrayed, just like he felt betrayed by the only man he had ever trusted as a friend. Seeing those signs of continued rebellion on Milton's face, the Governor threw him against the wall violently, making Milton hit his head hard and moan in pain. "Where is she?!", he yelled furious. "You tell me where she is now or-!"

"She's gone.", Milton said through gritted teeth.

In response, the Governor pulled Milton away from the wall only to throw him back against it, making the shorter man groan as he hit his head again. "Is she still here?! She's still in Woodbury?!"

When there was no response, the Governor pulled out a knife and put it against Milton's throat, drawing a bit of blood from the pressure. "Milton, you tell me right now where she is or I'll slice your throat open and make sure it's a long and painful!"

"I hid a car for her in the woods, the same one I went to burn the biters with. She's gone.", Milton replied, looking the Governor in the eye, a mixture of anger and sadness on his face and while Milton was usually a horrible liar, he had no problem telling this as he knew what the consequences of his betrayal would be and he accepted it. The Governor's eye grew wider in shock and realization as he failed to see through Milton and they stayed like that for a while: two former friends looking each other in the eyes and unable to forgive each other's betrayal.

Then, without warning, the Governor withdrew the knife from Milton's throat, only to stab him with it in the stomach again and again.

* * *

Thanks for reading! One or two more chapters to go.

Not sure when I'll be able to update again, since Easter break is almost over and I'll be busy working. So basically, it might take me until the end of the school year (end of Juin in my country) to write again. I'll try to update faster, but can't promise anything. What I do promise is that I'll complete this story sooner or later.

Happy Easter to all of you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

This was worse than being strapped in that goddamn dentist chair. Having to watch how Philip beat the living shit out of her friend and not being able to do anything about it. She was on the verge of helping him when she noticed Milton's sign to stay put and would have disobeyed if she would have had a weapon or something to fight with. But she hadn't. There wasn't anything within reach that she could use to beat the Governor with. Every object in the lab that could have possibly served as a weapon was too far away so that Philip would have more than enough reaction time to stop her. He was wearing his gun with him at all times after all and if she had seen it right, then he had a knife as well. No idea that popped in her mind was able to save either Milton or her. If only she had taken the pliers from Milton right away when he had freed her, but she hadn't thought of it and now they were just there on his desk, screaming "fuck you" at her. So the only thing she could do was wait and watch like Milton was trying to tell her.

Upon hearing their conversation, Andrea's shock grew even more as she understood the Governor had been planning on unleashing a herd of walkers on the prison and Milton, surprisingly, had gone out to burn them. She had never thought he had it in him to do such a thing, because that was a serious act of rebellion and in Philip's eyes for sure, betrayal. Andrea knew that Milton had been voicing his opinions against the Governor and that he had tried to talk sense into the man, but as far as she knew that had been it. To hear now that Milton was capable of taking action when needed, even for a group of people he didn't know, made her strongly believe that he could make it in this world even if he would need a little help in the beginning. But more importantly, she believed that Milton was what the world needed to heal again. Not many people would risk their own life to protect a group of people that wasn't theirs.

There was a part of Andrea that hoped Philip would just beat Milton as a punishment and leave it there to go to war, but all hope vanished quickly when the man took hold of Milton's collar and dragged him along to where he thought Andrea was still being held captive. When she couldn't see the two men anymore, Andrea allowed herself to take a few deep breaths in order to calm herself, but the thought of Philip discovering the empty chair and what the consequences could be for Milton, didn't do her any good. When she had steadied her breathing again she watched the pliers on Milton's desk and thought that maybe this was a good time to sneak out of the wardrobe to get it and surprise the Governor in some way. Though just as she wanted to do it, she heard Woodbury's leader scream furiously and she pressed herself against the back of the wardrobe, fearing that the man might come running into the lab again.

When he didn't and she couldn't hear anything anymore, she feared the worst for Milton and got out of her hiding place, no longer able to contain herself. Quickly grasping the pliers, she rushed into the corridors as silent as she could, almost believing that her racing heartbeat might just reveal her presence. When she was near the room, she stopped to listen for any signs of what was going on and thought that she heard something sliding down the wall before landing on the ground with a dull sounding thud.

"Doesn't matter, she'll die along with her beloved friends."

The sound of a squeaking door.

"While you die here alone."

The sound of a door closing with a harsh metallic sound.

Knowing that she was too late and that there was no way of knowing if she could sufficiently surprise Philip by attacking from around the corner, she ran back towards the lab and got back into the wardrobe as silently as she could. Having a hard time to control her breathing, she prayed that Philip hadn't heard anything. Several seconds that felt like eternity passed before she heard steady footsteps approaching. Holding her breath, scared that he might hear her breathing in the otherwise perfectly quiet lab, the Governor came into vision through the split in the door. Andrea's breath caught in her throat and she had to move her hands to her mouth in order not to make a sound as she saw the bloodied knife in the man's hand.

Getting stinging tears in her eyes, she could have screamed while she watched the Governor contemplating the instrument of his most recent murder with casual interest. The blade was fully bloodied from the tip to the handle and Andrea had to muster all of her self-control as to not start crying. Milton was dead, wasn't he…? It was such a large knife… No way he could have survived. What had the Governor done to him? Sliced open his throat? Stabbed him? Maybe he was still alive? If she could stop the bleeding, maybe he still had a chance? But then the Governor would have to leave now so she could finally get out of there and try to save Milton! He needed to leave now!

Leisurely, the Governor walked over to the sink and took his time washing off the blood while Andrea wanted to scream at him to hurry up. She couldn't see him anymore, but could hear the water running and it was as if she could hear every single droplet falling on the knife in what seemed like eternity. The thought of what pain Milton might be in or that he might no longer be among them made her weak in the knees and she felt the need to throw up in frustrating powerlessness. Finally, she heard the water stop running and supposed that the Governor was drying the blade while she didn't hear anything before his footsteps grew more quiet and he exited the building, locking the door with his key.

She didn't hesitate for a second, not even to be absolutely sure Philip wouldn't come back and got out of the wardrobe once more, immediately running off to the torture room. No matter how hard she breathed, it felt like she constantly lacked air as she made her way down the corridors. She whispered Milton's name as if that would bring her luck in finding him alive and practically ran into the door of the interrogation room that she brutally tried to open, but the Governor had apparently locked it as well.

"Milton… Milton are you in there?!", she asked panicked and then laid her ear to the door hoping to hear him respond with human language.

"A-Andrea…?"

The faint sound of his voice said enough that he was in bad condition, but at least he was answering. "Thank God… Yes it's me, don't worry Milton, I'm gonna get you out of there!" With that, Andrea began struggling with the knob and trying to bash in the door with her body weight, but failed to succeed.

"Wait…", she heard Milton's voice and heard him moaning in pain, trying to concentrate on how to form the words. "Under the door…"

She looked down and saw nothing at first, but then she heard something scraping the floor and three keys appeared from under the door. She took them immediately and tried the first one. It didn't work, so she tried the second and the door unlocked. She stormed inside the room and saw Milton sitting with his back against the wall right next to the door.

"Milton…", Andrea whispered and got down on her knees by his side, taking in the damage. "Oh no… no no no no no…", she said in a quivering voice, her vision blurring as tears came to her eyes. She pressed her hands to his wounds trying to make him stop bleeding, but it didn't help the slightest bit. Trembling, Andrea took off her coat and pressed it to his stomach instead so that it turned red in a matter of seconds.

"It's no use.", he breathed with his eyes closed and she couldn't stand to hear and see him be in so much pain.

"Don't say that. You're gonna make it.", Andrea replied stubbornly, but she had no idea how to safe him, not when she knew that the Governor and his army were still in town, so she couldn't get help.

"No… no and you know it.", Milton replied while he strained to open his eyes and what Andrea saw in them, was acceptance. Acceptance and his consent to end his life. She lowered her head as she was no longer able to restrain her tears and cried. The task was impossible. It was impossible when she had to do it with Amy, then Dale and now with Milton. She couldn't do it. Crying louder, she saw the faces of her lost loved ones appear in front of her eyes and how they had looked at her in the last moments of their life. Fear, pain, refusal, wordlessly begging her to make some miracle happen and safe them.

But not Milton. Milton was fine with it. And somehow that hurt Andrea even more. Why was he not begging her to safe him? Why was he not angry at her? He was dying because of her and for her and he didn't blame her for anything, she saw it in his eyes. Was it not because of her that he was dying then? Yes it was, it absolutely was. She had always run to him with her problems when Philip wouldn't listen. She had forced him to make a moral decision: keep on following the Governor or not. She had even told him he couldn't keep looking the other way. Why exactly had she gone to him and told him about her plans to go to the prison back then? Why had she asked for his help to escape? Why him? Why had she dragged him into this? Why hadn't she just left him alone? He wouldn't be dying right now if she hadn't always gone to him for support. Had she never told him anything about her true intentions, then he would be in his lab right now, unaware of her presence in the torture room and he would have lived. He would have lived, regardless of what went on in the prison. He would have silently disagreed with the Governor and he would have lived. Today he would die and it was her fault.

"It's okay…", she heard him whisper and while she could hear the attempt to comfort her in his voice, the words only hurt her more. She couldn't bear the feeling of losing a friend who was dying for her, that was another kind of pain she wasn't familiar with. Right when she thought he had experienced the worst sort of loss and grief in the world, it became worse still: having to live with the knowledge that someone had died to save her life. Because that's what it was. He could have betrayed her so many times. He could have told the Governor she had run off to the prison for good the second time. He could have told him she was hiding in the wardrobe. Hell, he could have chosen the ignore the fact she was being held captive in the interrogation room. He could have looked the other way to save himself… and he hadn't. The thought was unbearable.

"A-Andrea…", he began, wanting to talk her into ending it, but it hurt so badly he ended up gasping for air instead.

"No. Don't you dare say it.", Andrea interrupted him and looked up with red eyes, filled with anger and refusal of what was happening. "Have you got any idea how many people I've lost already? My sister, Amy… one of my best friends, Dale… and now you? I can't take any more deaths Milton. You're not going to force me into having to live with the guilt of being responsible for your death. You're not going to die for me! I'm going to save you and you're going to do everything in your power to help me succeed! Do you hear me Milton Mamet, you're going to live!"

With that, she took off his belt and wrapped it around his waist and her coat tightly, making sure as much fabric as possible was covering his stomach. He half begged her to stop as he groaned in pain all along the process, but she kept going, determined to save him. He was panting in pain and exhaustion, his forehead covered in sweat drops, when she finished and strongly took hold of his face with both hands.

"Stay awake! Don't you fall asleep, no matter what! I'm going to get help so keep fighting! I'm coming back, I promise!"

Because she wanted to give him something to distract him from the pain he was in and because she meant it, she put a quick yet genuine kiss on his forehead and took off towards the lab. Determined to save a loved one for once.

* * *

One more chapter to go!


End file.
